


Be My Lover

by swanfireprincessmydear



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:35:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26229544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swanfireprincessmydear/pseuds/swanfireprincessmydear
Summary: After being resurrected by his father, Neal is just trying to rebuild his life in Storybrooke. With Emma and Hook's wedding just around the corner, Neal is confused after receiving an invitation to Emma's bachelorette party. He is even more confused when he arrives and he's the only one there.
Relationships: Baelfire | Neal Cassidy & Henry Mills, Baelfire | Neal Cassidy & Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, Baelfire | Neal Cassidy/Emma Swan
Comments: 7
Kudos: 12





	Be My Lover

**Author's Note:**

> Although I did not intend it while writing, this story could work as a sequel to my previous one-shot Happy Birthday To You... Wherever You Are so if you want the full experience, I recommend you read that first.

Henry let out a victorious laugh as the sound of the game console hitting the ground echoed throughout the room. His dad had just lost a third round of the game they were playing and he had been determined to beat Henry at least once. 

“You’re just too good, Kid,” Neal laughed and ruffled his son’s hair affectionately, before throwing his weight down onto the couch to lie down. As soon as his head hit the small square pillow, sleep began to overtake him and his eyes fell closed.  
“Come on Dad, you can’t sleep now. Mom will be here soon to pick me up,” Henry gave his father a playful shove, thinking his behaviour was over losing the game. The tween’s smile fell when Neal made no attempt to move, “Dad?”  
Henry let out a small yelp when his dad reached up and grabbed him by the forearms, lifting him off the couch and pushing him to the ground. “Come here you!” Neal yelled at a chuckling Henry as the two started to wrestle on the floor. Despite their shared fun, Neal tired out quickly and Henry managed to pin him down, besting him at that game too. 

Henry looked down slightly concerned at his dad’s rather pale face, it had barely been a week since Neal had been resurrected and today was the first day he had been able to pull himself out of bed for longer than an hour or so. “Maybe you’ll beat me in a couple of days, when you’re better again,” the thirteen-year-old boy pulled himself up off the floor before helping his dad do the same. There was a loud thud as Neal slouched into the couch and that same exhaustion from before became almost unbearable. Forcing his eyes open, he pushed himself to stay awake, there was no way he would miss out on this precious time with his son. He’d missed so much of it already. 

“You alright Dad? Maybe we should call Grandpa if you’re not feeling good,” Henry placed a hand on Neal’s shoulder, partly to show affection but mostly because he was terrified his father would be torn from his life again. Neal just shook his head. He didn’t want any help, especially that of his own father.  
“Papa said it would take a while to fully recover, I’m just a little tired is all. After being dead for almost a year it’s to be expected,” Baelfire turned his head around to face his son and gave him a soft smile, pulling him into a side-hug. The newly-breathing man placed his chin on the top of Henry’s head as he held him close. It was so unfair that he was only getting moments like these now, after everything they had been through.  
“You’re not going anywhere are you Dad? This is permanent right?” A part of Henry didn’t want to believe his dad was back in his life for fear his return would only be temporary. What if Rumpelstiltskin couldn’t pay the price; whatever that might’ve been? The teen wasn’t sure he could cope with his father dying for a third time. 

Neal sighed and placed a soft kiss on Henry’s forehead, “I sure hope so kid, but you can never truly trust Papa. I guess for now we just gotta make the most of what time we do have.” Henry looked up at his dad and nodded slowly, trying not to worry about what might happen. A knock on Neal’s apartment door startled the pair, interrupting their long overdue reunion. When Neal moved to get off the couch, Henry jumped up before him and opened the door to greet Emma who had arrived ten minutes early. 

“Hey Kid,” Emma placed an arm on the doorframe and offered the young boy a lopsided smile, “You ready to go? I think it’s time your dad has a rest.” Henry peered behind his mother’s shoulder and a mischievous smile made its way onto his mouth when he realized that she was alone.  
“Yep I’m ready to go, I’ll wait in the car. Bye dad,” Grabbing the car keys out of Emma’s pocket, Henry dashed out the door and down the stairs, forcing his parents to be alone.  
“Henry!” Emma reached out to grab hold of his collar but she wasn’t fast enough to stop him and suddenly she found herself all alone with Neal. 

Baelfire just laughed at his son’s behaviour and looked up at his ex-girlfriend. For a moment he struggled to find the right words to say before being the first to speak, “So ah, how’s the wedding planning going? It’s coming up quick huh?” Neal managed a chuckle despite the pain he was desperately trying to ignore in his chest. This question caught the saviour off guard. He was right, she was marrying Hook in three days’ time.  
“Yeah, good. I can’t believe it’s this Friday,” Emma moved further into the room, placing her hands on the back of the couch. She hated how awkward it was between them, hated that they couldn’t just _talk_ the way they used to but things were so different now. She had been almost inconsolable when Henry had come barging into their house a week ago, screaming that his father was back, that Mr. Gold had brought him back. She couldn’t believe it, she didn’t want to. It was too hard, too impossible. Seeing Neal again had awoken something in her, something she thought had been buried along with him.

Neal tapped his thumbs together over the silence and Emma tried to look casually around the room, moving to sit down on the other side of the couch. Clearing her throat, she finally found more words to say, “It’s a nice place you got here.” After Neal had awoken, he had got his own apartment as far away from his papa as possible, he could only imagine the kind of horrors his father would’ve had to have committed to get him back and he wanted no part of it.  
“Thanks, I haven’t had the time or the strength to set it up properly but I think one day I could call it home,” That pain in Neal’s chest only grew more prevalent as she moved closer and he sucked in a breath to try and numb it. She was happy he thought, that’s all he could ever want. 

“How are you holding up?” Emma hadn’t really had any time with Neal since he got back. She had sat by his bedside along with Mr. Gold, Belle and Henry in the first couple of days after Neal’s return, when his time awake had been short-lived and mostly consisting of incoherent mumbles. Her ex-boyfriend had only really been fully conscious since Saturday and had spent the last three days either sleeping or with their son.  
“Yeah I’m doing alright, thanks Em. A bit tired but I’m getting there,” Neal tilted his head towards his shoulder, he was still very tired and an unconscious smile grew on Emma’s face at the familiar nickname. He was the only one who ever called her that.  
“That’s good. Make sure you get plenty of rest,” Emma continued to smile at him as she got up to leave, feeling a little flustered and confused, “Oh, you are coming on Friday right? I’d love to have you at my wedding.”  
Neal was a little shocked, swallowing hard, he nodded, “Of course, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” There was a small moment where Emma just looked at him but Neal couldn’t tell if this was longingly or just out of lack of words to say.  
“I better get Henry home then, I’ll see you later. Get some rest,” Emma disappeared out the door just as soon as she had arrived and Neal felt his shoulders relax. Neither of them wanted it to be this way but there was undoubtably tension between the two of them; tension that they both hoped one day would be resolved. 

Just as sleep was beginning to overtake him, loud footsteps clambered up the apartment building stairwell and his front door opened again, revealing Emma in a bit of a panic. Opening one eye and then the next to see it was her, Neal quickly jumped to sit up as she walked towards him. “Sorry, I forgot to ask you something. What are you doing Thursday night?” A determined look was plastered on Emma’s face and Neal was unable to make out exactly what that meant.  
“Uh, nothing, why?” A part of him hoped she would come near again, but she stood firmly in place, almost a little frightened. Of what, Neal didn’t know. For someone he knew so well, she had been hard to read today.  
“I’m having a bachelorette party, just something small. Will you come?” Truthfully, Emma was frightened of herself. She knew what she had just done, what decision she had just made by asking him to come but she also knew it was the right one. There was no turning back now.  
“Yeah, I’d like that,” Neal was a little puzzled as to why Emma was inviting him to her bachelorette party of all things, not that she had ever been the conventional type but he was pretty sure his kind was not often welcome at those events.  
“Great. See you at seven,” Emma then walked briskly out the door, closing it behind her. It wasn’t until she had left that Neal had time to really think about how odd that interaction had been. He later justified it as pre-wedding jitters and went about his week as planned. 

It took another couple of days before Neal felt confident enough to leave his apartment. He’d managed to regain almost all his strength back with a lot of sleep and a strict nutritious diet that Regina had set out for him. He still hadn’t seen his father since he regained consciousness and although he was aware of all his papa’s dark deeds since his death, a part of him still felt guilty for shutting him out. His papa had brought him back from the dead after all. Curiously, that Thursday afternoon, Neal found himself with his hand hovering over the door to his father’s shop. After several hesitant breaths, he opened the door and listened as the little bell rang out. 

“What can I-,” Rumpelstiltskin looked up from the particular trinket he was fiddling with before his eyes landed on his son, “Bae? My boy, glad to see you’re up and well.” Neal wasn’t sure how to respond or what to say so instead he offered up a stiff nod, placing his hands in his pockets and slowly swaying from one foot to the other. “What can I do for you, son? Would you like a cup of tea?” Mr. Gold grasped at straws for what to say, it had been such a long a turbulent separation filled with so much heartache and loss that he no longer knew how to talk to his oldest son.  
“I ah- I don’t know why I came here. This was a mistake. I’m sorry,” Baelfire turned to leave, staring at his shoes. It wasn’t like him to be so timid but perhaps there really was no relationship left to salvage between father and son.  
“Bae wait,” Rumple reached out his hand, a desperation in his voice, “Bae please, don’t go.” Neal stopped walking towards the door.  
“Maybe that cup of tea would be nice,” Baelfire turned back around to face his Papa and offered him a hopeful smile, walking towards the glass desk. The two then entered the back room, where Rumple had made a small kitchenette and sitting area. Neal was sure that wasn’t there before, in fact he was positive, but he wasn’t in the mood to argue over his father using magic. 

Although he was dying to know what the price of his life was, Neal knew now was not the time to be asking those questions. His papa had refused to tell anyone, even Bae, how he’d brought him back and what he’d had to do. Neal had decided that they would have that conversation at a later date. For now the resurrected man just wanted to sit with his papa, sit and talk about things like a weather, the price of fruit, and Henry; and that’s what they did. Neither of them even mentioned magic or portals or resurrections, they just talked about normal stuff. Well, until Rumple asked about Emma. 

“So you’re really just going to let Miss Swan marry that pirate?” Neal just about choked on his tea at his papa’s sudden remark. So much for a peaceful afternoon tea.  
“Um well,” Neal sat up a little in the soft lounge chair he was sitting on and put his teacup down on the coffee table to clear his throat, still rather taken aback, “I’m not ‘letting’ her do anything. She can make her own decisions, that’s none of my business.” Rumple raised an eyebrow at his son’s reply. Not this again, surely Bae was tired of being the nice guy. He wasn’t even sure where he’d got such a noble trait from.  
“No, you’re not getting it. I know true love when I see it. I’ve bottled it and you and Emma, you’ve got it,” it wasn’t going to be easy for his son to hear but it was the truth and he needed to hear it before it was too late. Neal sighed, grabbing hold of his cup of tea again and pulling it close to his chest. He couldn’t face the part of him that knew his father was right. What was he to do about it now? Whatever him and Emma had had in the past, it was over. It had to be.  
“Listen, maybe you’re right. But that doesn’t change the fact that she’s marrying someone else tomorrow. She’s happy, Papa, and who am I to try and ruin that,” Neal hated that his father had sparked something inside of him; that hope that Emma may love him back. A part of him that wanted to believe his father was right. 

Rumpelstiltskin dropped the subject after that and the pair mostly sat in a peaceful silence. His father’s words of ‘true love’ playing on Neal’s mind. After bidding a goodbye to Rumple, Neal made his way back to his apartment to get ready for the party. Putting on his best pair of jeans and a button-down shirt, he grabbed his present and headed out the door. He had assumed that you were to give a gift, separate to a wedding present, if invited to a bridal shower. 

When he reached Emma and Hook’s house, something felt odd. Only his old stolen yellow bug was parked outside and the typical atmosphere of a party was absent. The driveway was curiously quiet; too quiet. Shrugging it off, he assumed he was just the first one to arrive and knocked on the door. It only took a few seconds before it swung open and Emma was standing in front of him. 

“Neal! Glad you could make it,” with a quick glance behind her Neal knew no one else was inside. Hesitantly, he followed her in, waiting for Mary Margret to come downstairs or Ruby to appear from the bathroom but there was no sight of anyone. Neal’s eyes made their way to the kitchen bench where two wine glasses and a bottle of champagne sat. Emma had also prepared a cheese board, assorted fruit, potato chips and a variety of other alcohol. Focusing back on the two wine glasses he thought his heart stopped; just two glasses.  
“Uh, sorry am I early?” Neal was positive he’d gotten the time right. Seven o’clock, that’s what she’d said. Placing his present on the island counter, Emma just shook her head, walking over to pour the wine for them both.  
“Nope, no one else is coming. All my other friends are related to me or children. So it’s just us,” Neal watched as Emma filled up the glasses. He felt his hands start to get warm and he pressed his fingers into his palms, a little unsure of what was happening. Too nervous to formulate a reply, he just watched the champagne bubble up and almost spill over the sides of the glass. Trying to salvage any last confidence he might’ve had, Neal cleared his throat. Surely she had invited others to celebrate with her the night before her wedding?

“What about Ruby or Regina?” Neal was very unsure about the whole thing. It did seem a little strange that she hadn’t invited anyone else. Surely Mary Margret would have insisted on being there.  
“Ruby is my godmother and Regina is both my step-grandmother and watching Henry,” Emma merely brushed off the oddness of the situation and handed him his glass of champagne, which she’d filled to the brim. Neal desperately tried to make sense of it all, he supposed that he was her oldest friend after all and her explanation made enough sense to justify going along with it. However, if what she was saying was true he couldn’t shake the feeling that this felt awfully like a goodbye. As if Emma was letting him and whatever they had in the past go for good.  
“So, it’s just us then?” He watched as she nodded an amused reply before encouraging him to drink up. He wasn’t sure what kind of game she was playing, getting him alone and then drunk but for now he was willing to play along. 

Taking a large sip of her drink, Emma looked down at the box wrapped in ribbon that Neal had brought and giddily pulled it towards herself. “Is this for me?” Emma attempted to change the subject, already knowing the answer to her question and pulling slowly on the ribbon, undoing it and peeling back the wrapping around the box.  
“Oh, yes. I hope you like it,” Neal couldn’t help but smile at that same cheesy grin that crossed her face as she opened it. Her eyes lit up when she pulled a red scarf out of the box, quickly wrapping it around her neck to see how it fit. “I knitted it myself. I know you had one like it in Manhattan but I personally think you can never have enough scarfs,” Neal shifted uncomfortably despite the delighted look on Emma’s face. He thought he might be able to get away with leaving it on a present table along with everyone else’s but being the only one there he was faced with having to give it to her himself. Emma’s grin only got wider as she moved past the island to wrap her arms around him in a hug. It gave Neal a bit of a shock initially and he took a few steps back but quickly returned the gesture, settling back into old ways.  
“Thank you, I love it. It’s perfect,” Emma held him for a little longer than she probably should have and that sinking feeling of a goodbye made its way back into Neal’s stomach. Perhaps it was a good thing though, perhaps it was time for him to let go of that little piece of hope left too. 

Letting go of him and moving away, Emma cleared her throat and grabbed a hold of her glass, moving it towards him, “Cheers then.” Emma waited for Neal to join her as he grabbed a hold of his own glass and clinked in against hers.  
“Cheers to you getting married tomorrow,” Neal managed a soft smile at the sentiment, lifting his drink up to take a sip.  
Emma only frowned at this, adding her own cheers, “And to you being alive.” Placing her wine glass back on the table, Emma grabbed the food she’d prepared and moved it into the lounge, Neal followed suit, carrying her glass in for her. 

“So, have you talked to Gold since you know, everything?” Emma placed the cheese board and potato chips on the coffee table before sitting down on the couch and collecting her wine glass off of Neal. When Neal sat down, he made sure to sit a safe distance away from her, holding onto his glass tightly.  
“Ah yeah, we had a talk this afternoon but it didn’t really go anywhere. I guess I just have to trust he knows what he’s doing, even if it’s not easy,” The Dark One’s son raised his glass up and took another big sip of his champagne.  
“I’m glad you’re giving him another chance. He’s the reason you’re here after all,” Emma took a sip out of her own glass as well before leaning down to grab a cracker and some cheese. 

The pair of them managed to make small talk for a little while longer, with Emma’s playlist in the background soothing the mood. They were about three or four drinks in when Emma lifted her legs up onto the couch and tucked them underneath her, shifting a little closer to Neal. The dim lounge light lit up her face as she moved and it sparked a fond memory of the two of them in Neal’s mind. He couldn’t contain the smile that crossed his face at the thought and he opened his mouth to share it with her, “Do you remember our Christmas together and how desperately you wanted it to snow? I kept telling you it’s Portland Em, it doesn’t snow here but you were adamant that it would.” 

Emma grinned and nodded enthusiastically at the memory, “Of course, it was the only Christmas I ever enjoyed before Henry turned up at my door. And it did, just before midnight on Christmas day it snowed.”  
“Yeah only for like five minutes,” Neal chuckled into his wine, he was pleased she still let him tease her about it. The noise between them died just for a moment as they locked eyes. The time that had passed since that Christmas Day almost didn’t seem real, like some forgetful dream. But Neal knew the real dream was ever getting that feeling back, it seemed too coincidental all this and from what he could remember Emma was good at symbolism. This was the symbol of the end. One last party. 

Emma’s smile fell and a more serious look crossed her face, “I went to Tallahassee, you know?” Placing her drink down on the coffee table, Emma was the first to break the silence, swallowing hard at the painful memory. Neal’s back straightened as he sat up at this declaration, he hadn’t been expecting such a serious turn especially after Emma had done everything she could to keep to tone of the evening light hearted. They had never sat down and talked about their different lives over the twelve years they were apart, not really. They had had their small moments in between fighting Cora, getting shot by ex-fiancées, outsmarting Peter Pan, and defeating the Wicked Witch of the West; but those moments were so few and far between that closure had still been impossible. It seemed to Neal that Emma was ready to share something new with him now and he was going to listen. 

“After I got out of jail, I thought I might find you there. It took me two years and even after I left, I kept thinking that one day I’d run into you and we’d lock eyes and you’d run up to me and just hold me and you’d say, ‘It’s alright Em, I’m here now’,” Emma tried to form a laugh as her eyes began to well up, pushing down her tears, “I never could picture living my life without you. It sounds so silly now.”  
Neal reached over, placing a hand on her arm, “No, no it doesn’t. That’s not silly,” he waited until she looked up at him before continuing, “I am so sorry I left you. I’ve never forgiven myself.”  
Instead of looking hurt, Emma just smiled knowingly, “It’s okay. You did what you thought was right at the time. We’re here now, so I guess it all worked out in the end.” It very suddenly became apparent to Neal how close his and Emma’s faces had become, their noses merely moments from touching. Despite knowing it was wrong, he couldn’t bare to move away.  
Blinking purposefully a few times as if to wake himself up from a dream, he finally managed a response, “Yeah, it did.” For a split second he was certain she was going to close the gap between them and kiss him but instead a cheeky grin grew on her face as she continued to stare into his eyes. 

“Hey, do you want to see my wedding dress?” This proposal took Neal off guard so he only managed a small smile and a nod before Emma bounced up off the couch and up the stairs to try it on. Neal tapped his fingers against his knee while he waited patiently until Emma came stumbling down the stairs, clearly a little tipsy from all the champagne, giggling to herself as she stood before him in what was the most unlike Emma dress he had ever seen in his life. The white gown had come straight out of a story book with an extravagant puffy skirt, a lacy top and a buttoned high neckline. There was no denying that it seemed incredibly out of place on practical Emma Swan. Neal held back a laugh and took a big sip of his champagne, finishing off his fourth or fifth glass to try and hide his shock so he could compliment her. 

“Wow Em, it’s-“ Neal’s lie was cut off by a sarcastic joke.  
“I must say, I don’t think I’ve ever felt more beautiful,” the laugh that followed that statement indicated to Neal that she did indeed, not feel beautiful in the dress.  
“Really?” He was trying to be nice, trying to look as though seeing her in a wedding dress was enamouring, but this? This was a nightmare.  
“No, you idiot. I look like a yeti that’s had an electric shock,” both of them laughed at that remark and Emma turned to fall back down onto the couch, having kept up with Neal in terms of drinking. “Mary Margret wanted me to wear it. You should have seen her face, she just loves it. I didn’t have the heart to tell her it was the ugliest fucking thing I’ve ever seen,” this was followed by another chorus of laughter from both Emma and Neal. 

After the laughter died down Neal turned to Emma to look at her, dress ruffled and hair a bit of a mess he was sure it was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen. He loved her smile, it was always so bright and cheerful and of course contagious. “I’m glad you’re happy,” Neal grew a smile to match hers, only to have hers fall at that statement, “You are happy aren’t you?” Emma seemed to ponder this question for a moment, no one had really asked her that question before, not for a long time at least.  
“Yeah… I think so,” Emma appeared to have more to say but when the opening bars to _Hard To Say I’m Sorry_ by Chicago started playing, Neal was on his feet. 

“I love this song, Emma you know I love this song! Dance with me?” Offering his hand to her, Emma shook her head and grabbed the wine bottle, pouring herself another glass and topping up Neal’s as well.  
“No, no. I don’t dance,” Neal scoffed at her outright lie and took her champagne glass from her hand, setting it down on the coffee table.  
“Says the girl who created an entire choreographed dance to _Together In Electric Dreams_. Come on Em, please dance with me?” Neal offered his hand to her again and this time, along with an eager smile, Emma took it gladly and stood up to join him. 

Neal lead her around the coffee table into the space between it and the television without letting go of her hand. Once they had enough space, Neal pulled her close and began swaying her from one side to the other, “Besides, this’ll be good practice for your first dance tomorrow.” Emma laughed as he spun her around dramatically and pulled her back in time to the music, of course it was too much to ask for him to take anything seriously, he was just going to have as much fun dancing with her as he could. It seemed funny, Neal had adored this song while they were together, and so had she, but now it held so many painful memories for her. It was a song she would always hold dear to her heart and it would always remind her of him. It didn’t take long before they were both singing along, belting the choruses and laughing at each other’s atrocious singing skills. 

When the singing stopped and the guitar solo kicked in, Emma grabbed Neal by the shirt and pulled him down to meet her in a passionate, heart-felt kiss. It felt so right to be holding him this way, she had missed him more than she could ever imagine and to have him back in her arms was exhilarating. Initially, she caught him off guard and his instinctive reaction was to pull away from her. He only caught a glance of her worried look before he leaned in to kiss her again, holding her face in his hands. When Emma started walking forward, he thought she might be trying to push him off her but as soon as he began to move his face away again, she placed her hands over his, holding him in place. Shuffling backwards a little awkwardly, Neal wasn’t sure what to make of everything in his drunken state. It wasn’t until Emma finally let him go, immediately placing her lips to his neck and whispering about heading upstairs that he knew exactly what she was trying to do. Taking a deep breath and a leap of faith, Neal lowered his hands to grab her thighs and hoist her up so that her legs were wrapped around his waist. Looking to her for reassurance he was met with another kiss as he reached the stairs, beginning to carry her up. Wrapping her arms around his neck for balance, Emma pulled away again to place an affectionate kiss on his right cheek before attempting to unbutton the top part of her dress. Fumbling with the first few buttons as they reached the top of the stairs, she groaned in annoyance, “You know, I fucking hate this dress.” Neal chuckled and kissed her chin, carrying her towards the bedroom. 

Emma laid awake in the dark, it was early morning and a rather extraneous lie was playing on her mind. Neal was still fast asleep on her chest, his mop of brown hair rising and falling along with her breathing. Running her fingers through his hair gently, she resumed staring at the ceiling. “Neal?” Emma whispered out his name into the dark room as he stirred awake, softly circling his fingers over her hip, “Neal?”  
“Mmhmm?” Neal mumbled a reply, lifting his head and placing a soft kiss on her neck to express that he was indeed awake, before pressing his nose into her shoulder.  
“I lied to you. I’m really sorry,” although her words were sincere a mischievous smile grew on her face, one not unlike their son’s.  
“About what?” Neal tried to pull himself up to look at her face more clearly but Emma wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him closer and rubbing his back affectionately. She wanted to keep him in his half dazed state to reduce the chance of him actually being upset with her. As hard as she tried, the blonde couldn’t keep her laughter in and began chuckling to herself, struggling to admit her lie aloud. Neal laughed half-heartedly into her shoulder, barely awake and trying to figure out what she could’ve lied about, assuming it wasn’t all that serious.  
“My bachelorette party was two weeks ago,” Emma turned her gaze away from the roof to look down at Neal who was tucked away between her shoulder and her neck to try and catch his reaction.  
Chuckling at her confession, he pushed himself up so he was looking down at her “Ohh, that makes so much more sense.” Bending his arms to lower his face down to hers and capture her in another kiss, a gradual realization crossed over him. This had never been a goodbye, Emma had planned the night to end this way from the very beginning. Smiling against her mouth, Neal lifted a hand up to stroke her cheek as he deepened the kiss. At least he was right about one thing, Emma was very good at symbolism. 

Neal forced himself awake before the sun could begin to poke up through the ground. Still tangled up with Emma, he slowly moved her sleeping body so he could get up. Although there was a heavy pain in his chest, he knew he had to leave, this wasn’t his bed. Attempting to slip out from under the covers a tight grip grabbed a hold of his arm and pulled him back in. “Don’t go,” he heard the half-awake whisper echo throughout the dark bedroom, it was warm in here with her, how could he leave?  
“You know I have to go,” Neal gave in to her plea and stayed a little longer, cuddling into her and waiting until she fell asleep again in his arms. The second time he managed to slip away without waking her. 

Tip-toeing down the stairs and throwing his shirt on, trying to locate the buttons and their holes in the dark, Neal tried to make as little noise as possible. He didn’t want to wake Emma in case she wouldn’t let him leave. Although the night had been wonderful, reality was quickly sinking in. It wasn’t his bed, this wasn’t his house and it wasn’t his wedding that was happening today. He was sure it was far too early for any of the bridal party to be arriving as it was still dark outside which gave him a false sense of security. When he turned towards the lounge to retrieve his jacket he set eyes on a solemn looking pirate sitting on the couch, staring at the space between his feet. Neal froze in a mix of fear and shame as Hook lifted his head to make eye contact with him. The two men looked at each other for a moment, no words were exchanged between them, just a knowing silence. They both knew what had happened. 

Collecting his courage, Neal moved forward to locate his jacket only to have it flung at him with immense rage, hitting him square in the chest before landing in his arms.  
“Get out,” Neal could hear Hook grit his teeth as he quickly chucked his jacket on and headed for the door. For a split second he considered trying to apologize, trying to form a simple I’m sorry, but the words just didn’t come. Instead he just turned his head and closed the front door behind him. As Neal stepped down off the front doorstep, there was an angry outburst followed by a loud smash. Hook had thrown the remote and smashed the television. 

Turning to look up at the bedroom window, he was sure the sound must’ve woken Emma. Of course, all the curtains were drawn and he was unable to see inside. Now fearing for Emma’s safety, Neal chose to stay behind and wait. He stood there for perhaps fifteen or twenty minutes before deciding it was safe to leave. There had been no yelling or screaming to hear, just silence. Starting his walk of shame down the driveway, Neal remembered that the woman he had spent the night with was getting married today. Or perhaps, she wouldn’t be after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally this was going to be an open ended one-shot but I have started to gather some ideas for making it a multi-fic. Please let me know if you would like me to continue this story or leave it as it is. Also thank you for reading.


End file.
